HYANNIS – Nearly 49 million Americans are making plans to travel this July 4th, according to AAA.
Overall travel volume for the holiday is expected to rise 4.1 percent from last year, with an additional 1.9 million people planning road trips and other vacations to celebrate America’s birthday.
The vast majority of travelers, 41.4 million, will hit the road, the most on record for the holiday and a 4.3% increase from last year.
“As Independence Day approaches, it’s time for the much-loved family road trip and this year will be one for the record books, with more Americans than ever planning vacations,” said Mary Maguire, Director of Public and Legislative Affairs at AAA Northeast.
“This holiday builds on the strong travel demand seen for Memorial Day, and with schools now out of session across the country, families coast-to-coast are eager to travel.”
More than 1.3 million Massachusetts residents will be among those traveling, with close to 1.1 million going by car, according to the AAA report.
“We’re definitely seeing a lot of Massachusetts residents deciding to travel with 1.3 million and of those, 1.1 million are expecting to go by car so we should expected to see a lot of cars on the road as people are heading to their destinations,” said Mark Schieldrop, Spokesperson for AAA Northeast.
INRIX, a Washington State based company that provides location based data and analytics, in collaboration with AAA, predicts drivers will experience the greatest amount of congestion on either Wednesday, July 3rd, or Friday, July 5th, as commuters mix with holiday travelers.
In major metros, drivers could face delays as much as four times the normal commute.
“With record-level travelers hitting the road this holiday, drivers must be prepared for delays around our major metros,” said Trevor Reed, transportation analyst at INRIX.
AAA national named Boston as a top ten summer destination and says the worst time to be driving through the city is Friday, July 5th between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. with traffic expected to be 3.4 times greater than normal.
“Friday from 10 a.m. to noon would be the worst time to be in traffic,” continued Schieldrop.
“That is likely the result of people who don’t have Friday off and that traffic will likely mix with people heading out on their vacations.”
A survey conducted by AAA Northeast found that Cape Cod will be the 4th most popular destination this summer among New Englanders, behind Maine, New York City, and Orland Florida.
AAA expects to rescue nearly 367,000 motorists at the roadside this coming week, with dead batteries, flat tires, and lockouts being leading causes.
The 49 million people expected to travel are the highest Since AAA began tracking holiday travel in 2000.
By: LUKE LEITNER, CapeCod.com News Center
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